


Be Mine

by beargirl1393



Series: The Tale of an Arranged Marriage Between a Dwarf and a Hobbit [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-22
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-24 08:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/937590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beargirl1393/pseuds/beargirl1393
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They made it past the goblins and Rivendell elves, but there is still more to come. Dwalin worries about the coming danger, and confronts Thorin about his attitude with Bilbo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bathing

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't forgotten this, I promise. I've had half of the first chapter written for a bit, but the rest didn't want to come. Reviews are welcomed, as always :)  
> Also, I'm not sold on the title, so if you have a better option I'm all ears.

The dwarves, hobbit, and wizard descended the Carrock, as Gandalf claimed the rock they were standing on was named.

At the base of the Carrock, they discovered a small cave near a stream, and this is where the Company (including the wizard who had to duck down to fit at all) sat the few belongings they managed to hold onto before they headed off to the stream to bathe.

Bilbo had been about to follow the others when Dwalin stopped him. The dwarf hadn’t let his small husband out of his sight since he reappeared after escaping the goblin tunnels, and he hadn’t let Bilbo go too far away.

“I don’ want ta lose ya again,” Dwalin had answered when Bilbo asked about it on the way to the cave, and Bilbo had smiled, squeezing Dwalin’s hand.

Now, the hobbit looked at the hand his dwarf had on his shoulder before looking up. “Dwalin?”

“There’s a bend in the river a ways up,” Dwalin said, pointing further down the river. “We could go there…”

“Is there any particular reason why we can’t simply go with the others?” Bilbo asked, pointing to where the others were stripping out of their dirty clothes and jumping into the river.

Dwalin didn’t answer, looking away, but Bilbo could see a faint flush on his cheeks.

“Dwalin?”

Now that Bilbo thought about it, he and Dwalin had always bathed alone. They would go while the rest of the Company was busy, and were always fully clothed and on their way back to camp before anyone else went to bathe. Dwalin had also kept his back to Bilbo, preserving the hobbit’s modesty as well as his own.

Bilbo hadn’t paid attention before, but now he found it slightly suspicious.

“Is there a particular reason that you wish to go elsewhere?” Bilbo asked. If Dwalin’s behavior hadn’t been above reproach thus far, Bilbo would have thought that his husband was going to try something. And although that thought sent a pleasant shiver through him, he was determined that they wouldn’t do anything of that sort until they had some privacy. Adventures or not, he was still a proper gentlehobbit in some respects.

Dwalin muttered something, too low for the hobbit to hear, and when Bilbo simply looked at his husband, he repeated, with a darkening blush, “I don’ wan’ the others ta see ya.”

“See me?” Bilbo repeated dumbly, before the full meaning of his husband’s words caught on and he blushed. Dwalin was now redder than Bilbo’s prize tomatoes, and despite his embarrassment he found the sight endearing. Dwalin was trying to protect his modesty.

“No one has the right ta see ya like that without permission,” Dwalin grunted, startled when his smaller husband yanked him down for a kiss.

“For acting like a gentledwarf,” Bilbo said when he pulled back, turning to rummage in his pack for clean(ish) clothes. “Now, where are we going?”

The two bathed relatively quickly, neither looking at the other. Dwalin had told himself he would wait until his hobbit was ready, and seeing him in naught but what the Creator blessed him with was not conducive to that plan. Bilbo had similar thoughts, although his roved around the fact that anyone could come by and see them and so it wouldn’t be proper to throw himself at Dwalin. No, not proper at all.

* * *

 

As they were walking back to the others, Bilbo thought of something he had been puzzling over. “Why did I have to marry to come on this quest?”

It had bothered him since he eavesdropped on the dwarves’ conversation that first night, but he hadn’t been comfortable enough with Dwalin to bring it up then. About the time he had decided he would ask Dwalin about it, they had to deal with goblins and orcs, so it was natural that it slipped his mind.

“Ye needed family with ya on the quest,” Dwalin answered, looking down at his smaller husband. “Family can always be relied on ta watch yer back. Friends are all well and good, but no one will watch out for ya like family will. It’s been a law for as far back as anyone could say that ya have ta always journey with family, and since ya didn’ have any, ya needed ta marry so ya would have family.”

Bilbo blinked. “That’s…interesting. And the laws still applied to me, even though I’m a hobbit?”

Dwalin nodded. “Yes. Anyone setting out on this type of journey needs family with them, whether they are dwarves or not. Anyone who travels with our kind are told this.”

Bilbo just nodded, following his husband back into the cave, where the others were already setting up camp and making food. Which meal it was, Bilbo wasn’t sure, as they had skipped a few running for their lives from goblins and orcs. Not to mention Gollum, the thought of whom made Bilbo shudder.

His hand absentmindedly went to his pocket, where he had tucked the ring he got from the creature, and he remembered his thoughts.

“Gandalf,” he said, getting the attention of the wizard and the Company. “I found this ring when I got lost in the mountain. A strange creature had it.” He held out the little gold ring, noticing how the wizard’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

“Throw it in the fire Mr. Baggins,” Gandalf said, watching as the hobbit did as he was bid. After a few moments, writing appeared on the ring, and Gandalf knew what had been found. He used a spare branch to fish it out of the fire, setting it on the ground by Bilbo’s feet. “Wear it as little as possible Bilbo,” Gandalf cautioned.

“What is it?” the hobbit asked, staring with some trepidation at the small golden ring.

“That remains to be seen,” Gandalf said evasively. “However, I believe that, after this quest has been completed, it would be wise of you to accompany me to Rivendell. Lord Elrond will be able to confirm my suspicions.”

Bilbo nodded, bending down and picking up the ring with his handkerchief and tucking it in his pocket. Gandalf’s word’s confused him, and he could tell Dwalin was worried, but right now there was nothing they could do. They had a quest to finish, and Bilbo had a feeling that invisibility would be an asset sometime soon.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Halloween, since I can't afford to give out candy this year, I decided to do something else and update each of my WIPs on this site.

They set out for the house of the wizard’s friend the next day, night having fallen by the time they had all bathed, eaten, and seen to their wounds. Bilbo had a plethora of bruises decorating his back and side from where he fell, but they and the minor scrapes he had weren’t serious enough to warrant Oin’s salves. Dwalin himself had managed to make it out without a scrape, although his chest ached and likely would for a few days. He noticed the others had similar complaints. Having a giant dead goblin dropped on you tended to do that.

Thorin was by far the worst off. He had bruises (and in some places bite marks) from the warg’s teeth, and his shield arm had been fractured, again by the cursed beast. Oin was muttering about broken ribs, but Dwalin had little sympathy for his king. He was still angry about the accusations Thorin had leveled at Bilbo while his little hobbit was lost in the mountain. Dwalin felt a certain smug satisfaction when he heard Thorin’s hiss of pain when Oin set his broken nose. He had a lovely black eye, courtesy of Thorin, but the other dwarf had definitely lost their fight.

Bilbo had tutted over the black eye, muttering that there was no need for Dwalin to fight Thorin over a few (not entirely baseless, in his mind) accusations. Dwalin had responded that Bilbo was his husband and it was his duty to protect him from anything or anyone who was trying to harm him, and that included Thorin and his temper.

Bilbo had been asked to check on how far back the orcs and goblins were, Gandalf choosing him because he was quieter than the dwarves, even stealthy Nori. Hobbits could walk unseen by most when they chose to, after all, and Bilbo put those skills to good use.

The orcs and wargs weren’t far behind, but the sight of a monstrous bear sent him hurrying back to the Company as quickly as he could. He panted as he relayed the information about the orcs and the bear, although he didn’t pay attention to much of the arguing that followed.

Dwalin had pulled him aside as soon as possible, checking him over to make sure that he wasn’t hurt. “What is that thing?” Bilbo asked him softly, looking back the way he had run from. “No ordinary bear is that large.” He hoped Dwalin would know, as the dwarf was more well-traveled than he was, but he could see that the dwarf was as confused as he was. Only Gandalf seemed to know, and the wizard was always fond of speaking in riddles.

Before Bilbo could speak up and ask Gandalf why he didn’t mention the bear before (Bofur did though, so he supposed that was fine), they were on the run again. Bilbo reflected, in between panting breaths, that the dwarves were surprisingly fast considering that they were all varying degrees of injured. It was surprising that pudgy Bombur was the fastest out of them all, nearly faster than even Gandalf, whose size gave him an advantage.

Then again, perhaps it wasn’t so surprising, considering that Bombur was just as worried as the rest of them about being eaten. Bilbo remembered an old saying he had heard from the Men the few times he had ventured as far as Bree: You don’t have to be able to run fast, you just need to run faster than the slowest person. He was glad the dwarves seemed disinclined to act on that saying, as well as the fact that Dwalin had a tight grip on his hand, war hammer in his free hand.

Bilbo had his sword out, although he doubted he would be able to do much. He didn’t know much, Dwalin hadn’t had time to give him more lessons with his little elven blade yet. He still only knew the few blocks that Dwalin had managed to teach him before they left Rivendell. As soon as they reached this safe place, however, Bilbo wasn’t going to argue if Dwalin reinstituted their lessons. He needed them desperately, even little Ori could hold his own until help came if necessary (although he thought a sword would be more useful than a slingshot), and their recent experiences proved that he would need to learn. He had managed to kill the orc, yes, before it could kill Thorin, but he was realistic enough to know that if the others hadn’t come down from the tree when they did, he would have been in trouble.

Thoughts of what he needed to work on were momentarily put on hold as they stumbled into the house, ensuring that everyone was alright. The sound of a bear roaring had the dwarves bracing the door, unwilling to face a second danger so soon after they had escaped the first.

Once the sounds of the large bear faded away, the dwarves decided to turn in, finding places to sleep for the night. Gandalf assured them that his friend would be there in the morning when they woke.

“What kind of friend do you think it will be?” Bilbo murmured, curling against Dwalin as they settled in for the night. “Another wizard? He did mention blues and a white wizard besides Radagast.”

“I’ve had my fill of wizards for the next several decades,” Dwalin muttered, smiling as he felt Bilbo shaking slightly with silent laughter, not wanting to wake the others by laughing loudly.

“Be nice, I have no desire to be married to a toadstool for the next fifty years,” Bilbo replied, amusement and affection plain in his voice.

“That was nice,” Dwalin murmured. “And I made sure that it was quiet, I have no interest in being turned into something by a wizard. I’m not foolish enough to irritate them on purpose.”

“Speaking of irritation,” Bilbo replied, causing Dwalin to look down at him. “You need to talk to Thorin. He apologized to me and I forgave him, and you should as well. He is your friend, Dwalin, and as long as he is honestly regretful, you should forgive him for his past behavior.”

Dwalin sighed. It said something about the stubbornness of dwarves that his husband was able to forgive Thorin more easily than Dwalin himself had, especially as it had been Bilbo that Thorin had insulted.

It said something about the stubbornness of hobbits that, after twenty minutes of whispered arguments, Dwalin agreed to talk to Thorin tomorrow morning after they met their host.


End file.
